Series Champions O’Ward, VeeKay and Kirkwood Honored in Portland Celebration

PORTLAND, Ore. – There was a bittersweet element to last night’s Mazda Road to Indy Championship Celebration as over 200 members of the racing community, including drivers, families, teams and sponsors, gathered for their traditional end-of-season banquet. Following a cocktail reception on a glorious summer’s evening overlooking the Columbia River and with Mt. Hood looming in the distance, over $2.6M was distributed in the Mount St. Helens Ballroom at the Red Lion On The River, Jantzen Beach, just a mile or so away from Portland International Raceway which this past weekend hosted a hugely successful return of major-league open-wheel auto racing to the Pacific Northwest after an absence of 11 years.

There was also a firm sense of nostalgia as Director of Motorsports for Mazda North American Operations John Doonan bade an emotional farewell to the world’s most effective open-wheel driver development program, which, in conjunction with Cooper Tires, offers – and will continue to offer – opportunities for talented young drivers from around the world to progress from the grassroots of the sport to the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500.

Three championships comprise the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, and two remained undecided until this weekend’s Portland double-header finales. All three winners were honored last night, headed by 19-year-old Patricio O’Ward, from Monterrey, Mexico, who stylishly claimed the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires crown for Andretti Autosport with a pair of emphatic victories. In addition to earning a Mazda Scholarship valued at $1M to ensure entry into at least three Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2018, including the 103rd Indianapolis 500, O’Ward also scooped a uniquely crafted Jostens Indy Lights Champion’s Ring, the $15,000 Indy Lights Rookie of the Year Award, a $25,000 Dallara Parts Credit which will go toward his IndyCar campaign in 2019, and an original painting by renowned motorsports artist Jim Swintal.

After finishing a close second in last year’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Rinus VeeKay, 17, from Hoofddorp, Netherlands, went one better in 2018 by ending up a clear winner of the next step on the ladder, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The gifted Dutchman clinched the title this weekend by virtue of a pair of pole positions and second-place results for Juncos Racing. VeeKay earned a Mazda Scholarship of $700,000 to advance to Indy Lights in 2019, as well as a Cooper Tires Tire Allotment Award, valued at $69,000, a Series Race Entry Fee Award of $26,150, and a One-Day Indy Lights test, valued at $20,000, making his evening payday well in excess of $815,000.

Kyle Kirkwood, 19, from Jupiter, Fla., had already secured the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda title, but rammed home his superiority this weekend at PIR by scoring two more race wins for Cape Motorsports and equaling the single-season win record that had been established by J.R. Hildebrand in 2006. In securing Cape Motorsports’ record-extending 12th USF2000 championship win, including an astonishing eight in succession, Kirkwood earned a $325,000 Mazda Scholarship to advance to Pro Mazda in 2019, a Cooper Tires Tire Allotment Award of $31,000, and a Series Race Entry Fee Award of $22,400, bringing the value of his stellar season to a whopping $378,400.

Both VeeKay and Kirkwood also were presented with Jostens Champion’s Rings and original paintings by Jim Swintal.

In addition to glowing tributes to Mazda, and especially its hugely popular director of motorsports, John Doonan, the evening also included the induction of several past champions into the Mazda Road to Indy Hall of Fame. The Class of 2018 comprises 1988 Indy Lights Champion Jon Beekhuis, who subsequently enjoyed a highly successful career firstly as an IndyCar driver and more recently as a TV personality and IndyCar analyst for ABC and NBCSN; Connor De Phillippi, a seven-time winner in Pro Mazda who has achieved tremendous success in sportscar racing in recent seasons, including scoring the first worldwide victory last month at VIRginia International Raceway for the new-for-2018 BMW M8 GTLM for Bobby Rahal’s BMW Team RLL; and Jay Howard, the 2005 USF2000 champion who, with 10 wins to his name, remains tied for fifth place on the all-time USF2000 winners’ roster and now operates his own hugely successful race team and driver development ladder.

Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions: “Another fantastic evening celebrating the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, our 2018 season and the future stars of North American open wheel racing. These drivers come to us with so much raw talent and our job is to complete their education and deliver them up to professional careers. I’m proud to say it’s working with so many of our graduates enjoying successful careers.

“We thank Mazda so much for all they’ve done in supporting and helping us to build this program over the past nine seasons and we look forward to the 2019 Road to Indy season and what it holds for our current drivers, new talent coming in, and the success of our graduates. It was a wonderful evening, and I’m so proud of these drivers, teams and the Andersen Promotions staff.”

John Doonan, Director of Mazda Motorsports for Mazda North American Operations: “What started out as the only driver development and scholarship program of its kind in the world has become an actual ‘factory’ of driving talent for our sport. In this factory that we have called the Mazda Road to Indy, we certainly produced the drivers – almost 250 drivers took advantage of the opportunity – while 75 percent or more of the Indy 500 field of drivers the last several years came from this program. We have handed out nearly $13 million in scholarships over the last nine years and seen IndyCar Champion drivers blasted onto the scene and race winners put their stamp in the history book, and many drivers who I believe will win races in the future make their mark. But the Mazda Road to Indy was not just about drivers. We have seen young engineering talent get the opportunity to springboard their careers and climb the ladder to IndyCar roles, and race team owners find that there might just be business opportunities to expand their teams and have their bucket list dreams come true.

“We sincerely hope that we can continue to power all levels of the Mazda Road to Indy for years to come and we are working with Dan on ways that we can continue to bring some value to the program in that regard. There will still be three Soul Red Mazdas on the grids next year and a driver to be named later after the $200,000 shootout in December. There will still be plenty of waves, smiles, handshakes and hugs in the paddock and they will still be just as genuine. The thousands of people who have participated in the Mazda Road to Indy have certainly made all of us at Mazda FEEL ALIVE for the last 11 years.”

Chris Pantani, Director of Marketing; Event Management, Sponsorships & Motorsports at Cooper Tire & Rubber Company: “The three scholarships that were awarded tonight are just one portion of what the Mazda Road to Indy offers to young open-wheel drivers with their eye toward IndyCar. As Victor Franzoni stated so perfectly in 2017, the Road to Indy gives hope to those looking to advance their careers in racing. The development offered to aspiring drivers, both on and off the track, is second to none. Globally, this is the only true path that graduates each series champion to the next level, with the culmination being IndyCar. We thank Andersen Promotions for a great 2018 and look forward to what 2019 entails.”

Patricio O’Ward, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion: “It’s pretty hard to put into words. I’ve been working toward this for a long, long time, so to finally succeed as the champion, it hasn’t sunk in yet. It’s starting to, but not fully. I haven’t grasped how big this is, and how far this will catapult me. It’s been a strong season – nine wins and nine poles. I couldn’t ask for a better car, a better team, a better group of people to work with. I have the record now for poles in a season, and to do it in a rookie season makes me very proud of what I have achieved with the #27 car crew. It’s been a dream of a season and it’s been a joy driving race cars and trying to drive as fast as I can. It’s sad that Mazda is leaving, but it feels really special to represent them in IndyCar next year. It’s been a really enjoyable season and I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m so excited to jump into an Indy car.”

Rinus VeeKay, winner of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires: “It’s great to finally be a champion. It’s been a tough but enjoyable season. Tomorrow, I will step onto the airplane trying to figure out how to get all these trophies home, and that will be my favorite problem of the year. We started so well, with the sweep in St. Pete, but it went downhill so quickly, with no podiums in six races. The team and I worked so hard to get back on top and the speed was just amazing in the second half. To make such a comeback, from over 40 points back to over 60 points ahead, is great. The team fought to be a champion again. I knew their history and I knew how good they were, winning so many championships. They have a different mentality than other teams, with some spicy Argentinean in there. Fun fact – the queen of the Netherlands is Argentinean so that’s quite a connection! It’s a family, just like I had with Pabst last year, and I know that will never change. I had a lot of fun this season, with my amazing teammates Carlos (Cunha) and Robert (Megennis), who were super quick. We learned so much and I can’t wait for next year. I am proud to be the last Mazda driver on the Indy Lights grid.”

Kyle Kirkwood, winner of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda: “It’s really settling in now, after making my speech and watching John Doonan speak on behalf of Mazda. It’s all becoming real to me, how big this all is and how wonderful this championship is. It’s amazing to be one of winningest drivers in the history of USF2000, so moving into Pro Mazda and driving the last ever Soul Red car is really amazing. Cape Motorsports has done an amazing job – they’re a family to me, and without them I wouldn’t be here. The series has done a fantastic job as well, and I’m proud to add my name to that list of drivers. We start planning for 2019 now, working with sponsors and Mazda, and I hope we’ll have an answer on our plans soon. I follow in a lot of really amazing shoes and it’s all down to me now, to take care of that legacy.”